The Florida Panthers just wrapped up their ground braking 2021-22 season in disappointment. After having the most successful regular season in team history and winning the President’s Trophy for the first time, the Cats got swept in the second round to Tampa. The Panthers did clear a major roadblock in finally winning a playoff series since 1996, however many questions begin to come up about the near future for the team.
When looking at the situations that the team is facing, it’s easy to see why many would wonder about what’s to come. General manage Bill Zito has put together a competent and competitive team in such a short amount of time. However, he is now tasked with making some humongous decisions this offseason after going all-in to win a Stanley Cup this year.
There are several impending unrestricted free agents he needs to focus on resigning and he needs to make the call on whether Andre Brunette is the guy to lead this group as their head coach. This in no doubt is the biggest offseason in Zito’s short but already successful career as general manager.
To start, we’ll take a look at the head coaching position. Seven games into the season, Joel Quenneville was let go as Panthers head coach, following the controversial sexual assault cases involving his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Andrew Brunette was quickly thrust into his position which I’m sure was extremally stressful for him. However, the success that Florida built early in the season kept on coming. Immediately in his first game, Florida won in overtime against Detroit.
That led to the team enjoying it’s first-ever 50-win season in it’s history. However, in the postseason, some of Brunette’s flaws as a rookie head coach began to surface. The biggest problem he had throughout the entire postseason was waiting too long to make changes. The Panthers’ powerplay was blistering hot as they were ranked fifth after the regular season. However, it sputtered out of the gate immediately. In Florida’s ten playoff games, they only scored one powerplay goal. They were 0 for 25 on the man advantage at one point.
When the struggling man advantage kept on sputtering, Brunette kept the same units on the ice. It wasn’t until when the Panthers were faced with a 2-0 deficit in the second round, that he made major changes to the power play. As far as the regular lineups were concerned it wasn’t until game four of that series were he made major changes. Needless to say, he was stubborn to change anything.
Without a doubt, this was a major reason why the Panthers lost to Tampa Bay. Bill Zito has options available when it comes to this position. He could choose to let Andrew Brunette stay, as he is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. However, the inexperience he has at the position showed itself when he failed to make the aforementioned changes at the right moment. There is a reason the team kept the “interim” tag next to Brunette’s name.
Zito might want to bring in a coach who has had a track record of success in the postseason. He has publicly noted that he is open to all options and is willing to make a change if he feels it’s needed. The biggest candidate that is available as of now is Barry Trotz. Trotz has been linked to several different teams in need of a head coach. The Panthers have slowly entered their name in the Trotz sweepstakes. He has had success in every stop he has made and won a Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018.
There is also Rick Bowness, who stepped down as Stars head coach recently as well. Bowness, in his short time as Dallas’ bench boss, enjoyed a good amount of success. Bowness hadn’t been a head coach in the NHL since he was for the Coyotes in 2003-04. He stepped in after Jim Montgomery got fired during the 2019-20 season. He immediately took over and did a great job, leading them to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Stars made the postseason again this year, but lost in game seven to the Flames in the first round. He gained the respect of his players and they enjoyed playing for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Zito decided to make a move an hire a new coach for the upcoming season. Other than a possible change at the head coaching vacancy, Bill Zito also has some even bigger decisions to make with the makeup of the roster.
When analyzing the situation, attention immediately gets brought to the two trade deadline acquisitions. Defenseman Ben Chiarot and winger Claude Giroux were brought in to obviously bolster the lineup for a deep playoff run.
Both of the aforementioned players fit quite well into their roles and were productive in their respective positions. Giroux did a good job, solidifying the top six and Chiarot made the defense more balanced instead of being primarily offensive-minded. He supplied some more physicality with Radko Gudas and played smart, forcing turnovers.
Bill Zito spent a good amount on acquiring both commodities. He gave up a couple of first-round picks and decent prospects to get both Giroux and Chiarot. He most likely will not let them go easily but it will be a tremendous challenge in keeping them around. According to CapFriendly.com, the Panthers will only have close to $4 million in available cap space to open the offseason. Other than the two big deadline additions, Florida also needs to make decisions on other players looking for a new contract.
There is Robert Hagg, who was the third trade deadline addition. He came over from Buffalo and provided some good depth for the team on defense. He didn’t see action in the playoffs but he can slot into the bottom pair on certain occasions and isn’t a liability. Depth defenseman Petteri Lindbohm and Lucas Carlsson looked good in their limited action for the team. They both have decent size bodies, can play physical and have a good shot.
Carlsson along with centerman Eetu Luostarinen are the only two restricted free agents on the roster. I’m sure both will easily be back. Luostarinen is the lone piece that remains from the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to Carolina a few years back. He has come into his own and has turned into a full time players for the Cats. He has cemented his place on the third line. He is only 23 years old and will keep improving as time moves on.
The group of UFA’s not including the aforementioned names are Mason Marchment, Maxim Mamin, Noel Acciari, and Joe Thornton. The verdict on whether or not Joe Thornton will come back for another season is still up in the air.
The allusive title that he desperately craves may push him to come back but we’ll see how that transpires. Mason Marchment is the guy bringing in the most attention out of this group. Part of a minor trade several years ago with Toronto, the son of former defenseman Bryan Marchment, has found success in a Panther uniform.
He has risen from a depth forward to a potential top-six winger on a Stanley Cup Contender. Mason is coming off the best season of his young NHL career, scoring 18 goals and 29 assists for a total of 47 points. In a contract year, he definitely came out to play. He is definitely going to be looking for some type of security with a long term contract. It is highly likely that he might have tons of other teams bidding for his services, which in turn might have him move out of Florida.
The Panthers are in a very tough position since many key contributors won’t be able to return. The stipulations with the cap combined with the worst of Keith Yandle’s buyout clause coming this year is forcing management to make some tough decisions regarding the roster. That also doesn’t take Carter Verhaeghe’s and Aleksander Barkov’s pay raises.
The Panthers also have to put themselves in a position where flexibility is key, as Jonathan Huberdeau is looking for a new deal after next season. We’ll see what moves Bill Zito makes in the summer as Florida continues to push for a deeper playoff run.